Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-11-24
PARENTAL BLUNDERS.
DR.. TALMAGE's SUNDAY SERMON.
A Few Words Of Wisdom About Train.
ing Children.

Text; lie fell OF from tie seat baclaodrd
by The side Of the gate, oad his neck brake
and he died; for he tgds dH old man, dho
heavy Samuel iv., Is
This is the end Of long story OF parental
neglect Judge Eli was good man, but hs
let his two boys, Hophni and Phinehas, do a:
they pleased, and through over-indu igengt
they went to run. The blind old julge
ninety-eight years Of age, is seated az th,
gate waiting for the news of an important
battle in which his two sons were at the front
An express is coming with tidings from the
battle This blind nonagenarian puts his
hand behind his ear and listens and cries
'sWhat meaneth the noise Of this tumultF
An excited messenger, all out Of breath with
the speed, said to him: "Our army is defeat
cd. The sacred chest, called the ark, is cap
tured, and your sons are dead on the field '
No wonder the father tainted and expired
The domestic tragedy in which these two
sons were the tragedians had finished its fifth
and last act. 'He fell from off the seat
backward by tho side of the gate, and his
neck brake and he died; for he was an old
man and heavy
Eli had made an awful mistake in regard
TO his children. The Bible distinctly says:
ssHis sons made themselves vile and hs re-
strained them not" Oh, the ten thousand
mistakes in rearing children, mistakes of pa
rents, mistakes Of teachers in day school and
Sabbath classes, mistakes which we all make.
viii it not be useful to consider theml
This country is going to be conquered by a
great army, compared with which that of
Baldwin the First, and Xerves, and Alexan-
der, and Grant, and Lee, all put together,
were in numbers insignificant. They will
capture all our pulpits, storehouses, factories,
and halls Of legislation, all our shipping. all
our wealth, and all our honors. They
will take possession Of all author
fly, from the United States Presi-
dency down to the humblest constabulary
of everything between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. They are on the march now,
and they halt neither day nor night. They
viii soon be here, and all the present active
population of this country must surrender
and give way. refer to the great army of
children. Whether they shall take posses
sion Of everything for good or for bad, de-
lpends upon the style of pr paration through
which they pass on their iay from cradle to
throne. Cicero acknowledges he kept in his
desk collection of prefaces for books, which
prefaces he could at any time attach to any
thing he wanted to publish for him
self or others; and all parents and
teachers have all prepared the pre-
face of every young life under their
charge, and not only the preface, but the ap-
farce. Families and schools and legislatures
are in our day busily engaged in discussing
what is the best mode of educating children.
Before this question almost every other
dwindles into insigni6cance, while de-
pendent upon its proper solution is the well
fare Of governments and ages eternal.
Macaulay tells of the war which Frederick
the Second made against Queen Marie
Theresa. And one day she appeared before
the Diet, wearing mourning for her father,
and held up in her arms before them her
child the Archduke. This SO wrought upon
the officers and deputies Of the people that
with half drawn swords they broke forth in
The war cry: "Let us die for our Queen,
Maria Theresa" So, this morning, realizing
chat the boy Of to-day is to be the ruler Of
the future, the popular sovereign, hold him
before the American people to arouse their
enthusiasm in his behalf, and to evoke their
oath for his defense, his education and his
sublime destiny.
If pareut, you will remember when you
were aroused to these great responsibilities,
and when you found that you had not done
all required after you had admired the tiny
hands, and the glossy hair, and the bright
eyes that lay in the cradle. You suddenly
remembered that that hand would yet be
raised to blesss the world with its benedic-
ton, or to smite it with a curse. In Arios-
tos great poem there is character called
Ruggiero, who has a shield Of insufferable
eplendor, but it is kept veiled save on certain
occasions, and when uncovered 1t startled
and overwhelmed its beholder, who before
had no suspicion of its brightness. My hope
to-day Is to uncover the edestiny Of your child
or student, about which you have no especial
appreciation, and flash upon you the splen-
dors of its immortal nature. Behold the
rhiefd and the sword of its coming conflict
propose in this discourse to set forth what
Iconsider to be some CT the errors prevalent
In the training Of children.
First: Iremark that many err in too great
severity or too great leniency Of family gov
ernment. Between parental tyranny and
ruinous laxativeness of discipline there is q
medium. Sometimes the father errs on one
side and the mother on the otherside. Good
family government is all important. An
the forerunner Of anarchy and misule in the
State What repulsive spectacle is home
without order or discipline disobedience and
impudence, and anger and falsehood lift
ing their horrid front in the place which
should be consecrated to all that is holy, and
peaceful, and beautiful. In the attempt to
avoid all this, and bring the children under
proper laws and regulations, parents have
sometimes carried themselves with great
rigor. John Howard, who was merciful
to the prisons and lazarettos, wa!
merciless in the treatment OF hi
children. John Milton knew everything but
how to train his family. Severe and unrea
sonable was he in his carriage toward them
He compelled his daughters to read to him il
four or five languages, but would not allow
them to learn any Of them, for he said tina
one tongue was enoughfor woman. Thei
reading was mechanical drudgery, when, i
they had understood the languages they read
the employment Of reading might have beel
luxury No wonder his children despise,
him, and stealthily sold his books and hopet
for his death. In al ages there has been neet
of a society for prevention of cruelty to chill
dren. When Barbara was put to death BY
her father because she had countermanded hi
order, and had three windows put in q room
instead of two, this cruel parent was typ
of many who have acted tho Nero and tn
Robespierre in the home circle. The hear
Gckens at what you sometimes see, even il
families that pretend to be Christian-per
petual srolding, and hair-pulling, ear-boz
ing and thulnping, and stamping, and fault
finding, and teasing, until the children ar
vexed beyond bounds, and growl in tn
sleeve, and pout, and rebel, and voy
they will retaliate for the crueltie
practiced. Many home has become as ful
Ofdispute as was the home of John O'Groat
who built his house at the most northerl
point in Great Britain. And tradition say
that the house had eight windows, and eigh
doors, and table of eight sides, because h
had eight children, and the only way to kee
them out of bitter quarrel was to have
separate appointment for each one Of them.
That chiId's nature is too delicate to
worked upon by sledge-hammer, and gouge
and pile-driver. such fierce lashing, instea
of breaking the high mettle to bit and trace
will make it dash of the emore uncontrolablt
Many seem to think that children are flax
not fit for use till they have been hetcheled an,
MwinSlad Soma One TALKING fn n child said